Publication Order of Standalone Books

Publication Order of Omnibus Books

Jenn Bennett is an American author best known for works such as ‘Kindling the Moon’ and ‘Bitter Spirits’, her novels (and short stories) largely targeted towards adults as well as teens.

+Biography

Jenn Bennett was born in Germany; following her acquisition of a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from Tory University, Jenn traveled extensively. She would go on to live in a number of places before finally settling down in Atlanta with her husband and dogs.

-Literary Career

Jenn Bennett’s first novel, Kindling the Moon, was first published in July 2011, the first in the Arcadia Bell series of books; set in central California, the novel revolves around an occult magician called Arcadia Bell who sets out to find a demon in her attempt to prove her parent’s innocence.

Loaded as quite the impressive first novel by sources like Romantic Times and Locus magazine, all five novels within Jenn’s Arcadia Bell series achieved critical acclaim, attracting praise from a number of circles and allowing Jenn Bennett to pursue her writing career with confidence.

The author followed up the success of Arcadia Bell’s adventures with the ‘Roaring Twenties’, a series constituting three novels chronicling a paranormal romance story set within a historical context.

With novels like ‘Bitter Spirits’ and ‘Grim Shadows’ attracting praise akin to the Arcadia Bell series, Jenn Bennett’s star has only continued to rise with the passing of time, her eventual entrance into the young adult genre allowing her the opportunity to try her hand at more diverse waters.

Jenn Bennett’s works have been described as spooky and sexy, providing an absolutely delightful read, terrifying cliffhangers and characters one is unlikely to forget.

Jenn has worked with publishers such as Simon & Schuster, Macmillan Publishers and Pocket Books to bring her literary works to public attention.

+Kindling the Moon

Arcadia Bell is a bartender, renegade magician and a fugitive; as the child of infamous occultists (and supposed murderers), life has never been simple for Cady, yet she has always made the best of her difficult circumstances. Having spent several years in hiding, Arcadia has carved out quite the incognito niche for herself serving drinks at the Tambuku Tiki Lounge.

Life as she knows takes an unexpected turn when Arcadia stumbles upon footage of her notorious parents, who finally surface; and an ultimatum is handed down to her: she can either prove their innocence or surrender to the law.

Unfortunately for Cady, her only chance for success lies with a slippery AEthyric demon, the only witness to the crimes in question. Cady, upon discovering her limitations in tracking the demon down, enlists the assistance of Lon Butler, trusting that the demonologist’s library of stolen (but priceless) grimoires and assortment of sexual spells will prove useful to her efforts.

What begins as basic research quickly explodes into a complex puzzle involving a ruthless bounty hunter, missing police evidence and the infamous (and highly decadent) HellFire Club. The involvement of a powerful occult society operating outside the limits of the law doesn’t help matters.

Cady has only one choice; she must clear her family name before she is forced to sacrifice her life.

Anyone searching for a good reason to try their hand at Jenn Bennett’s first novel need look no further that Arcadia Bell. As the primary protagonist, Arcadia Bell is surprisingly likeable; while far from perfect, Cady is the perfect balance of confident, stubborn and vulnerable, bringing numerous faults to the table, each of which works to keep her grounded as a human being.

Admittedly some people might choose to give the novel a wide berth because of its romantic elements, especially those individuals only interested in reading great fantasy without the weight of dreary romances.

However one would be surprised by the subtlety with which Jenn Bennett handles the romantic elements between her leads, avoiding the unrealistic swoony stuff common in most Young Adult novels in favor of a more realistic approach.

With well developed characters and relationships whose dynamics are extensively explored, the plot is gripping and, while not quite unpredictable, should keep readers guessing until the very last page.

Fans of fantasy stories complimented by aspects of romance might take offense at the absence of a love triangle; others might simply praise Jenn for choosing to do away with this particular trope.

Whatever the case, Jenn more than proves her worth as a writer with a debut novel that hits all the right brats, avails decent world building and tries to keep its characters as interesting as possible.

+Summoning the Night

Having finally escaped her fate as a sacrificial pawn, Arcadia bell couldn’t be happier to return to her normal life, or as normal as one can expect from a renegade magician bar-tending at a demon friendly tiki bar.

Arcadia has only one thing on her mind: Halloween, the busiest night of the year. When a kidnapper begins terrorizing the community, Cady finds that she will have to put her plans on hold, especially when she is approached by an influential member of the HellFire Club and tasked with tracking down the fiendish culprit.

The fact that she is dating Lon Butler, the HellFire Club’s wayward son forces her into a situation where she can hardly say no.

Cady and Lon will have to unravel a case stretching thirty years into the past, utilizing aged clues all of which points to the children of HellFire club members and the danger they might be facing.

To locate their target, preferably before the final victim succumbs to the vengeful kidnapper, in the process leading to the revelation of Cady dark secrets, now her greatest enemy, she will have to master her new Moonchild abilities even while seeking metaphysical assistance from her loyal bar patrons in order to solve the case and bring a difficult foe to his knees.

The first thing one realizes upon reading the second novel in the ‘Arcadia Bell’ series is just how strong JennBennet’s cast is; many readers will admit to returning for another thrilling ride through Cady’s world with the express purpose of adventuring with Jenn’s lively and engrossing collection of characters.

Cady’s second outing in the series proves to be even more exciting than the first; the story is very tightly written and the plot elements highly exciting, Jenn delivering a surprisingly breathtaking story with an unexpected finale for those readers that were not quite sold on her talents after the first novel.

Rather than announce an upcoming book, we're paying tribute to our most popular author of the year from a survey we did. That author is Louise Penny, who writes the Inspector Gamache books. Trust me when I say this - this is a tremendous serious about a Chief Inspector in Quebec. Buy it for yourself, buy it as a gift - but get the first book in the series, Still Life and see why it's our most popular book series. Read more about it.

Recommendations

Every 2 weeks we send out an e-mail with 6-8 Book Recommendations. We'll base this on various factors for example "If you like Jack Reacher..." or "If you like short stories in the horror genre". Insert your e-mail below to start getting these recommendations.

MISSING A BOOK?

I do my best to make sure the book lists are complete and current, but due to human or machine error while attempting to keep 3000+ authors up to date, the occasional book can be missed or will be listed under an alternate title. If you see one missing just send me an e-mail below. Thanks!

Author / Series

Book(s)

Featured Series

Our character of the month is Inspector Armand Gamache. We know people are looking for gifts for others this time of year - so make it easy. Get someone hooked on our most popular series! Seriously I don't mean to beat a dead horse but try this series out!

Featured Author

Our author of the month is the Canadian author Louise Penny We’re paying tribute to Louise this month. Her Gamache series is simply incredible and each book just gets better. If you haven’t read it yet – start now!

Did You Know…

Dean Koontz won an Atlantic Monthly Fiction Competition when he was a senior in college. He has an estimated number of over 400 million copies sold and his work has been published in more than 38 languages all over the world. His books have topped New York’s bestsellers’ list thirteen times and he also has to his credit of becoming the bestseller in countries as diverse as Sweden and Japan.